SJ Event Reviews

Friday, January 16, 2015

Mason Jar Recipe #1: Southwest Chicken Salad

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I don't know about you but I have a hard time with preparing lunch. I'll do anything to get out of it because I just don't see the logic in stopping whatever I may doing to prepare food in the middle of the day. It's time consuming and breaks my rhythm of whatever I was doing. I mean after all, once you get started on a good scavenger hunt with your kid who wants to stop? And besides on the days I work I can't make a meal at my job which means I have to spend my nights the day before whipping up something. Again, who can be bothered? I have more fun things to be doing.So when I heard of others make salads in a Mason jars to help preserve them over the course of a few days I had to investigate! This not only allows me to sneak in some vegetables, but I can also create multiple lunches at once and save time.

The nice thing about it is I can put the salad dressing and salad in the same jar and not have to jungle multiple containers when I go to work. The key is to pack things correctly and tightly so that the dressing and the lettuce never touch. See the details below. Here's a one of my yummy concoctions. Notice the title says "Recipe #1" which means more are on the way! Enjoy!

Mason Jar Recipe #1: Southwest Chicken Salad

Large Wide Mouth Jars 8 Oz with Lid and Bands1/3 cup of Chipolte Pepper Ranch Dressing (Buttermilk Ranch, spicy chipolte peppers, garlic, and onion)1/4 cup of black and Spanish olives mixed together (1/4 cup total)15 grape tomatoes (depending on the size. If they are extra large you can cut down the number)1 can of Swanson chicken breast drained1/3 cup of shredded cheddar cheese A dusting of Hormel Real Bacon Bits (enough to cover the previous layer)2 cups of Spring Mix lettuce 1/3 of broken tortilla chips1/4 cup of classic Sabre Guacamole dip

How to make it: 1. Pour salad dressing in first. Other, hearty ingredients will go next, keeping the lettuce as far away from the dressing as possible. You don't want it to get soggy.

2. Add the chicken. Being right on top of the dressing will allow the dressing to absorb into the chicken almost like a marinade. Just keep that in mind if you plan on eating the salad several days after you make it. The more days that go by, the more the chicken will absorb the dressing so they'll be less of it when you go to eat the salad.

3. Add olives.

4. Add tomatoes. Their hearty exterior will create a barrier preventing the dressing to run into other ingredients.

5. Add shredded cheese.

6. Add lettuce and stuff it down until it all fits.

7. Add tortilla chips.**

8. Add Guacamole dip on top of the chips.**

9. Pack all ingredients down tightly and add Mason jar lid.

**As an experiment I tried adding the chips and the guacamole to the salad and including them in the Mason jar. As I suspected they were soggy when I went to eat them so simply put them on the salad and add them to your plate when you are ready to eat the salad.

Tips: I'd avoid finely shredded cheese because it's very thin. A hearty shredded cheese will create a barrier and prevent the dressing from traveling much the way the tomatoes do.

Make fresh chicken in the slow cooker. You'll be able to shred it easily and it will be very tender.Avoid iceberg lettuce. It's wimpy and doesn't hold up well.

Make multiple Mason jarsalads and keep in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days. I've made them on a Sunday and they were still good on Wednesday. A friend said hers were good for almost a week although she had included different ingredients. As you are adding each ingredient to your Mason jar make sure you push everything down real tight. I used a ladle but you can obviously use whatever works for you.

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**This post contains affiliate links which means I would receive a small commission if you make a purchase off my site. This helps pay the ...

Welcome! I am Denise, blogger, member of the technology training team at a New Jersey University, mom of my little love Dante, wife of my big love Nick and owner of my fur child, Tapper, a spoiled little bunny rabbit. I enjoy traveling, spending time with my family and friends (specially Dante!) and learning. I am a self proclaimed eternal student!! Looking forward to connecting with you.

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